Arctic air grips much of US in cold snap – in pictures

Arctic air grips much of US in cold snap – in pictures

From the mid-west to the north-east, nearly two-thirds of the US was plunged into subzero temperatures this week as the result of an Arctic blast of cold air. As high temperatures barely rose above 20F (-6C), fierce winds made some locations feel as cold as -50F (-46C). In Chicago late Tuesday night, hundreds of ice-covered firefighters battling a warehouse blaze also fought with gear that froze when water hit the air

Firefighters work to extinguish a massive blaze at a vacant warehouse in Chicago on Wednesday. Fire officials said a third of all Chicago firefighters were on the scene at one point or another trying to put out the flames